Political prospect for storm,
not stability, says LPP letter

TORONTO — “The prospect ahead in Canadian politics and economy is not of stabil-
ity — but of increasing storminess. The Tory party is the party of monopoly capital and has
replaced the Liberals as the chief political instrument — the executive committee — of big
business, The conflict between monopoly and its Tory government, and the needs of our
country and its people, will become sharp in the next period of time.”

This is the conclusion drawn
by the national executive of
the Labor-Progressive party in
a letter sent to all its com-
mittees and clubs last week.

Examining the results of the
March 31 federal election, the
letter notes:

“It would be wrong to play
down the extent of the Tory
parliamentary victory, or to
dismiss the large Liberal vote.
In the 1953 and 1957 elections,
80 per cent of the ballots were
cast for Tory and Liberal can-
didates. On March 31, this
rose to 87 percent—54 percent
for the Tories and 33 percent
for the Liberals.

“The CCF vote dropped
slightly from 11 percent of the
1957 vote to 10 percent of the
1958 vote. The LPP vote re-
mained about the same, pro-
portionately, as in the 1957
election, and was lower than
in 1953.

“Social Credit dropped from
5 percent to 2 percent.

“Tt is important to see the
unrepresentative nature of the
capitalist voting system —
for example 54 percent of the
popular vote gave the Tories
80 percent of the parliamen-
tary seats. :

“These figures show that the
capitalist parties are still in
command of politics, and labor
still has to find the way to ex-
press its class interests in
parliament and to unite with
farmers. They show, too, that
the struggle for independent
working class political action
is a long and complex one,
and that there are no easy
shortcuts.

“The capitalist two-party
system operates to prevent
the growth of labor political
action by offering to the
workers an alternative in the
shape of another capitalist
party.

“Thus, when the Liberals
lost some public spuport after
22 years in office, it was nec-
essary for monopoly to win
back this support through the
Tory party- This is what Dief-
énbaker did, and the most im-
portant single effect of his
campaign of promises was to
head off genuine labor farmer
expression.

“Many workers voted Tory
under the influence of this de-
ception—but it must also be
said that reforms they voted
for and which the Tories
promise, were and are quite
real and are urgently demand-
ed by the people. This is the
weak spot of the Tory govern-
ment.

“When the working class
and farm voters see through
the deception of the capitalist
two-party system, they will
move into independent politi-
cal action.”

The letter notes that the
CCF leadership, “which has
moved to the right since the
1956 CCF convention,” re-
jected all proposals for united
labor-farmer political action.

“Instead they competed with
the Liberals, on capitalist party
terms to replace them as the
“opposition” in parliament.

Vancouver 4, B. C.

TRIBUNE.

Circulation Department
Tribune Publishing Company, Ltd.
Suite 6 - 426 Main Street,

Please enter my subscription to the PACIFIC

$2.2" for 6 months ()

They spurned unity. Their
platform was hardly disting-
uishable from the Liberals’.
Thus, they betrayed the poli-
tical class interests of the
workers and actually assisted
the Tory election strategy.”

The letter also points out
that the LPP, both before and
at its national committee meet.
ing last February, further de-
veloped its united front pol-
icy by putting forward “the
idea of a working agreement
between the unions, farmers’
groups, the CCF and LPP, to
nominate and elect genuine
people’s fighters to  parlia-
ment.

“It was clear from the out-
set that this proposal — a step
to larger unity through a La-
bor-Farmer party or some
such medium ceuld not be rea-
lized in the 60-day election
campaign. Nevertheless, it is
a practical proposal containing
the basic idea of unity and
our party, in the campaign,
opened it up for discussion in
the labor movement.”

The letter termed the great-
est weakness of the LPP’s
own campaign “the failure to
make Canadian indepencence
a more central issue.”

Noting that the Conserva-
tive campaign “included elie-
ments of Canadian indepen-
dence” the letter said the LPP
itself, “with a fine record of
several years of agitation for
independence, and first rais-
ing it as a central issue, “was
wrong in not continuing to
place it in the forefront of its
election campaign.

In conclusion, the le‘ter said
it would be a mistake “to think
that there is any harmony be-
tween what .the people who
voted Tory really voted for,
and what the Tories will do.
Actually, on Canadian inde-
pendence, peace, action to
protect workers and farmers
from economic crisis, the
Tories will obey the command
of big business.”

That is why it was so im-
portant for the LPP “to de-
mand that the Tories come
through with their promised
reforms and live up to the
expectations of the thousands
of working people who voted
for them, believing they
‘should be given a chance.”

% A giant 165-foot jumping tower has been built a

Stadium for the centennial ski jumping tou spt
May 1-3. Special ice-making machines will be mov ets
the stadium next week. Some 30 world-famous !

~will participate in the event.

Gert Whyte's

SPORTLIGH

wr: opening of the local
racing season just around
the corner (May 16 is the
date) horseologists are mailing
their entries to a Name the
Foal contest being staged by
a daily newspaper, in the hope
of picking up $50 plus a pair
of season passes.

The colt this year is a son
of Ky Lea, out of Charlobelle,
so there’ll likely be a hundred-
odd racing buffs sending in Ky
Belle as their selection. But
how about something like Ky
Yippee, Kyack or Folderol?

$e bos 533

All’s_ right for. Vancouver
fans in the sports world. Van-
couver Mounties got away to
a flying start in the Pacific
Coast League; Vancouver Can-
ucks won a_ tough series
against Winnipeg; and B.C.
Lions for the first time since
they entered the WIFU in 1954
appear to have a team that
could make the playoffs next
fall.

Set ’em up for everybody,
bartender. No, no, the dime
glasses will do!

% os xt

An item of interest to those
people (and they are legion)
who believe that amateur box-
ing should be made safer for
youngsters.

Rules for boys’ boxing in the
Soviet Union have been tight-
ened up- No lad under the age
of 15 will be allowed to box
in tournaments. A knockdown
will in future end the bout.
The points verdice will go to
the youngster who had the ad-
vantage in skill and tactics.

pitt
t a

From this corné: Mot
but appplause for the
move.

Te eee sf

For a guy who § i"
the suggestion of a CO” pl
er, the antics of te oo
Bearg club members #* "ol
Bay every New Ye# : fo
send shivers of puwe #
up and down my SP i
chilblains even watchiné
on TV. 1

Now, in Soviet weekly we
that similar screwP
in the USSR. It |i?
enough to shatter oDe®
socialism. What sort oa ip?
am I building for ™Y
Socialist Canada? ‘ J

On a recent sub-zet® bs @@’,
in Moscow 50 men 4
en in swim togs * wt}
across the snow and Po
into the ice-free 1a0© jo?
Moscaw River, while id
ands cheered. (Didnt
jeer?)

“They swim in the e
twice a week, whate¥ rd
weather,” reports SOV”
ly, and quotes som
swimmers’ comments: ff

Pavel Supruno, 46:
been swimming in > 4
for the last three yea®
wonderful and dont F
ber when I had a cold if

Pantelei Shatalov, or
you heard of Ivan * wi
a poet who lives i®
His father lived © ff
and for 87 years of ni
swam in the Northe™® og!
both summer and ws

Quick, Watson, 4
leave out the ice-cuP®

A
April 25, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE? |